In “Romeo and Juliet,” there’s a climactic fight scene between Mercutio and Tybalt, two men who… had no interaction before that moment? Why exactly are they on such a collision course then? I investigate why in the latest installment of “Shakespeare Themes”.
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Not a religious video at all! In this episode I talk about the three kings of the Henriad – Richard II, Henry IV, and Henry V, and a brief view of my theory about how Shakespeare explains the three. The final companion piece episode to “The Hollow Crown,” this episode marks the last time I’ll harp on these three dudes for a while!
While Shakespeare tragedies often kill off many of the relevant characters, those left behind to lead the way into the future are interesting too. Here is a discussion of three characters who are raised to power by the end of their respective tragedies: Lucius (Titus Andronicus), Malcolm (Macbeth), and Fortinbras (Hamlet).
And, with a much pithier statement on the end of tragedies than I could ever muster, here is TheGeekyBlonde’s Hamlet, which ends with her Fortinbras summing up how Shakespeare ends his tragedies. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mHQ8te8Rfk
In Shakespeare’s “Richard II,” on my mind due to the recent airing of “The Hollow Crown”‘s adaptation of the play, there are many moments where one character will critique another’s use of names or titles. “What did you just call me” seems to be a sentiment common to these moments, and there’s a very plot-relevant reason why, as I explore in this episode of “Shakespeare Themes”.
I half-seriously talk through the late plays: Cymbeline, The Winter’s Tale, The Tempest, Pericles, and Two Noble Kinsmen, and the themes that recur in them. What kind of world is Shakespeare going for here? This is a general overview, and more detail is forthcoming in later episodes.
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